Michael Blake
WHISTLE DUET for 2 clarinets
Bardic Edition BDE322
Whistle Duet (Hindewhu) for two clarinets or soprano saxophones or two birbynes
Whistle Duet is based on my own transcription of a piece of Pygmy music titled Hindewhu (meaning ‘whistle’) in which one performer alternately sings and blows a panpipe using a kind of hocketing technique. I made the transcription and composed most of the piece during the summer of 1989 in a remote village on the Greek island Paros.
While originally written with the particular sound qualities of the early 19th century clarinet in mind, the piece may be performed on modern clarinets or soprano saxophones, but never a mixture. Twenty years later, at the request of Darius Klysis, I inserted several ossia passages so that it may also be played on two birbynes, traditional Lithuanian wind instruments.
Duration 8½ minutes
Whistle Duet is based on my own transcription of a piece of Pygmy music titled Hindewhu (meaning ‘whistle’) in which one performer alternately sings and blows a panpipe using a kind of hocketing technique. I made the transcription and composed most of the piece during the summer of 1989 in a remote village on the Greek island Paros.
While originally written with the particular sound qualities of the early 19th century clarinet in mind, the piece may be performed on modern clarinets or soprano saxophones, but never a mixture. Twenty years later, at the request of Darius Klysis, I inserted several ossia passages so that it may also be played on two birbynes, traditional Lithuanian wind instruments.
Duration 8½ minutes
